Coffee Review

[novasurf]

Some of you may or may not know I've opened my own coffee retail internet shop. I recently submitted my freshly roasted coffees for review with different experts. 2005 Colombian Cup of Excellence blend was first. The review is by New York City coffee guru Fortune Elkins. It is just copied and pasted from her site. Check it out:

Sunday, November 20, 2005

norman's mix of coe2 by fortune elkins

"i first met norman at an nyc coffee meetup. now,

like half of the people i know, he's gone pro.

and he was kind enough to send some, as he says, beanz.

(let me also say that besides being a super-nice guy,

norman has a beautiful italic hand, which is admirable.)

alas, since i've been blessed with so much coffee recently,

it took me a bit to get to his c.o.e. blend.

yuppers, you've read that correctly. norman has taken beanz

from 2 separate c.o.e. farms -- both colombian. he's put

prize-winners together from the aura silva and carlos otera

estates, which include a mix of coffee varietals.

so he's roasting colombia, caturra, and typica in this

blend. the beans he sent were roast dated the 12th, which

means they're now 8 days old.

looking at these beanz, i'd say they were a vienna+ roast

-- with a nice sheen all over and some beanz showing

heavier spots of oil. got your scaa flavor wheel?

the fresh dry grounds are sweetly floral. the coffee offers

a full bouquet, no doubt. because i had the chemex out, i

went ahead and brewed it up in that pot.

norman didn't offer any particular brewing hints, so i just

used oren's 1.85 oz/ 53 g coffee to 26 fl. oz/ 769 ml

water. total brew time: 4 mins, 35 secs.

i found this coffee to be a classic colombian situation --

crisp, clean, balanced; with a pure sweet taste and medium

body. the darker roast level gave the coffee a black

currant stem-type aftertaste, since his roast's dark enough

to go into the "dry distillation" territory.

it's the colombian coffee you've always wanted, the way you

know it could be, if you follow me. a fine example of the

colombian category at a slightly but not excessive dark

roast.

this would probably make an interesting single-origin

espresso if pulled at 3 days old too. in fact, i think this

blend would be fantastic for an upscale, specialty version

of the classic cuban coffee.

i just loved it when i drank it with a generous amount of

whole milk and more -- much more! -- than a pinch of raw

sugar. ah! café con leche.

everyone agrees that's yummy, yummy stuff. it gives "crying

uncle" a whole new meaning."

[Tampa1257]

Very nice Coffee review Norman! All I can say is that I have enjoyed Norman's coffee on a Sunday morning along with a Bolivar Petit Corona and thought I was in Heaven!

[CIGARHead]

Bet that review makes ya feel good, eh?

What is your website? Id like to check it out and support one of our own:-D

[Phailure]

» Bet that review makes ya feel good, eh?

» What is your website? Id like to check it out and support one of our

» own:-D

Nice review! I'd like to check out your website as well.

[Guest crossbow]

» Some of you may or may not know I've opened my own coffee retail internet

» shop. I recently submitted my freshly roasted coffees for review with

» different experts. 2005 Colombian Cup of Excellence blend was first. The

» review is by New York City coffee guru Fortune Elkins. It is just copied

» and pasted from her site. Check it out:

»

» Sunday, November 20, 2005

»

» norman's mix of coe2 by fortune elkins

»

» "i first met norman at an nyc coffee meetup. now,

» like half of the people i know, he's gone pro.

»

» and he was kind enough to send some, as he says, beanz.

» (let me also say that besides being a super-nice guy,

» norman has a beautiful italic hand, which is admirable.)

» alas, since i've been blessed with so much coffee recently,

» it took me a bit to get to his c.o.e. blend.

»

» yuppers, you've read that correctly. norman has taken beanz

» from 2 separate c.o.e. farms -- both colombian. he's put

» prize-winners together from the aura silva and carlos otera

» estates, which include a mix of coffee varietals.

»

» so he's roasting colombia, caturra, and typica in this

» blend. the beans he sent were roast dated the 12th, which

» means they're now 8 days old.

»

» looking at these beanz, i'd say they were a vienna+ roast

» -- with a nice sheen all over and some beanz showing

» heavier spots of oil. got your scaa flavor wheel?

»

» the fresh dry grounds are sweetly floral. the coffee offers

» a full bouquet, no doubt. because i had the chemex out, i

» went ahead and brewed it up in that pot.

»

» norman didn't offer any particular brewing hints, so i just

» used oren's 1.85 oz/ 53 g coffee to 26 fl. oz/ 769 ml

» water. total brew time: 4 mins, 35 secs.

»

» i found this coffee to be a classic colombian situation --

» crisp, clean, balanced; with a pure sweet taste and medium

» body. the darker roast level gave the coffee a black

» currant stem-type aftertaste, since his roast's dark enough

» to go into the "dry distillation" territory.

»

» it's the colombian coffee you've always wanted, the way you

» know it could be, if you follow me. a fine example of the

» colombian category at a slightly but not excessive dark

» roast.

»

» this would probably make an interesting single-origin

» espresso if pulled at 3 days old too. in fact, i think this

» blend would be fantastic for an upscale, specialty version

» of the classic cuban coffee.

»

» i just loved it when i drank it with a generous amount of

» whole milk and more -- much more! -- than a pinch of raw

» sugar. ah! café con leche.

»

» everyone agrees that's yummy, yummy stuff. it gives "crying

» uncle" a whole new meaning."

Nova surf

congratulations

now can you point me to your website so I can order? I am also based in NY. But there are some brothers that deserve a smackdown.

PS.. Do you ship to Brisbane Australia too? :yes:

[novasurf]

» Nova surf

»

» congratulations

» now can you point me to your website so I can order? I am also based in

» NY. But there are some brothers that deserve a smackdown.

»

» PS.. Do you ship to Brisbane Australia too? :yes:

Very aware of the no shilling rule.

You can sent me an EMail at:

[email protected]

I'd be happy to send you a link to your site.

Norman

[Loki]

Email sent. Good luck Norm.

[El Presidente]

:-) Shill away my friend.

[novasurf]

» :-) Shill away my friend.

With the permission of El Presidente (thanks Rob):

The website:

www.unclebeanz.com

Any questions, drop me a line at the EMail in previous post.

Norman

[josie67]

» » :-) Shill away my friend.

»

» With the permission of El Presidente (thanks Rob):

»

» The website:

»

» www.unclebeanz.com

»

» Any questions, drop me a line at the EMail in previous post.

»

» Norman

Seeing as how I LOVE coffee, I will also be checking out the site!!

[Ken Gargett]

very wise opening an internet retail shop rather than a real life coffee shop - if you'd done that, some layabout might come along and open a rent free cigar store in the corner.

[Freefallguy]

» very wise opening an internet retail shop rather than a real life coffee

» shop - if you'd done that, some layabout might come along and open a rent

» free cigar store in the corner.

Good on you Ken... now that's funny I don't care who you are!

Regardless, and I've said it here before, one of the finest and most memorable cups of coffee I’ve EVER had was supplied by Dean, served up by Rob and in the midst of all that cedar and tobacco it was absolutely incredible.

I only wish I knew what I’d been served.

[harwellplant]

great review norman, and a nice addition to these boards.

[mgillett]

Good review. Love some strong coffee with a good cigar. :-P

[El Presidente]

» very wise opening an internet retail shop rather than a real life coffee

» shop - if you'd done that, some layabout might come along and open a rent

» free cigar store in the corner.

Low blow ken ;-)

Merl's (Fello FOH member and coffee guru of Australia www.merlocoffee.com.au) made the fatal error once of saying that his business took off to becoming the monolith it is today sometime in 1988. I was quick to point out that it was the same year that I opened the Cigar Czar store in his coffee roasting house :-D

[smokeswirl]

The coffee I recieved from Norman is one of the best I have ever had. Fresh roasted when you order. Great Great stuff

[ironman]

Congrats!!! Any suggestions for a first time buyer?

Ironman

[novasurf]

Tough call, I-man.

Tell me what kinda coffee you currently like to drink.

I can make a better rec from there.

[Ginseng]

Wow, 4'35"

Usually I just pour in the water and then come back to filter it when I remember. I'm such a troglodyte when it comes to coffee.

How about a suggestion for me? My favorite is Sumatra Med. or Jamaican Blue.

Thanks,

Wilkey

[ironman]

» Tough call, I-man.

» Tell me what kinda coffee you currently like to drink.

» I can make a better rec from there.

My wife and I aren't to picky, we have tried all the killer ones and have liked them all. Anything is better than the supermarket dried out stuff :-D

Ironman

[novasurf]

Ginseng - IMan,

Start countries/names/types you know. I'm sure you'll find your fave.

Nova

[smokeswirl]

The Inagural blend is what I tried and it is fantastic. You should give this a try.

[novasurf]

» The Inagural blend is what I tried and it is fantastic. You should give

» this a try.

It's sold out!